Israeli officials are investigating how a missile fired from Yemen breached its air defense systems and struck a playground in Tel Aviv early Saturday morning, injuring at least 16 people and damaging homes.
An initial probe by the Israeli Defense Forces found that several interceptors all failed to knock down the missile after sirens rang through the coastal city.
“The incident is still being investigated in depth, and some of the lessons learned have already been implemented, both in the area of interception and warning,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that the missile, which was labeled “Palestine 2,” “hit its target accurately and the defense and interception systems failed to intercept it.”
The attack was in response to “the massacres against our brothers in Gaza,” the terrorist group also said.
One Houthi official took to X mocking Israel in Hebrew following the rare breach in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa district – the second attack on the city this week.
“There is no longer any use for interception systems that cost billions of dollars,” Houthi official Hezam al-Asad posted, referring to Israel’s extensive Iron Dome defense system, which prevents most direct hits.
“The failure of all Israeli defense systems means that the heart of the Zionist enemy is no longer secure,” Asad said in another post.
Fourteen victims were treated for minor injuries sustained while seeking shelter, as well as seven panic victims, according to officials.
The strike comes after a ballistic missile launched from Yemen Thursday was partially intercepted by the IDF but managed to cause extensive damage to a school in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv.
In response, Israel struck several military targets in Yemen, killing nine people, according to Houthi reports.
Since Israel’s war with Hamas following the Oct. 7 massacres, it has come under fire from Iran’s proxies, the Houthis, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Following this week’s attacks, the IDF posted on X: “The Houthis only care about one thing: killing and destroying the lives of Israeli civilians. We won’t let them.”
In other developments:
- The IDF intercepted a drone that infiltrated Israeli airspace near Israel’s border with Gaza, the military said Saturday.
- Hamas said the possibility of reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal “is closer than ever” if Israel “stops setting new conditions,” according to reports.
- “Palestinian armed actors” seized a United Nations Relief and Works Agency health center in the West Bank. “UNRWA has been unable to access the Jenin Camp Health Centre and does not presently have control over the facility and its use,” the agency said.
With Post wires
